In a statement released on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, the spokesperson for the Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Hauwa Mohammed, announced that 1,288 public primary school teachers who were sacked in June 2022 for failing a competency test have been reinstated by the Kaduna State government under Governor Nasiru El-Rufai’s administration.
Out of the 1,288 workers, 1,266 had failed the competency test, while 22 were removed from the government payroll due to unproven claims.
The board had initially terminated the employment of 2,357 primary school teachers, citing their failure in the competency tests it conducted.
The reasons for the sack included 2,192 teachers failing to take the test and 165 teachers performing poorly in the examination. Some of the affected teachers claimed they had written and passed the examination but were still sacked.
Others claimed to have been ill at the time of the test and had provided proof, while some claimed to have been kidnapped, involved in accidents or were on suspension due to the verification of their certificates.
The state government reviewed the complaints and approved the reinstatement of 392 teachers who wrote and passed the test, 515 central administration staff who were officially exempted from the test, 298 teachers who were verified to be sick at the time of the test, 61 teachers who were kidnapped or involved in accidents verified by their respective Education Secretaries, and 22 teachers who were permanently removed from the payroll for unproven claims.
All affected teachers were advised to collect their reinstatement letters from their respective Education Secretaries immediately.